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| Bristol Eastern wrestling poses with the Bristol Central Invitational championship trophy on Monday night. |
Bristol Eastern wrestling competed in its second tournament in three days on Monday at the rescheduled Bristol Central Invitatonal.
As if that wasn’t enough of an obstacle, senior wrestler Zach Marquis went down with an injury during the tournament and didn’t deliver any points for the Lancers. That was important for Eastern, which was being chased by a solid Ledyard team.
Third-ranked Eastern persevered and claimed first place at its rival’s invitational for the second straight year. The Lancers tallied 261 points as a team, 7.5 clear of second place Ledyard. Central finished third as a team with 146 points.
“We’re seeing a lot of growth,” Eastern head coach Bryant Lishness said after the tournament.
Jordon Champagne (113), Anthony Lozier (145), Mikey Barrett (160) and Trinidad Gonzalez (170) all finished in first in their weight classes for the Lancers. Here’s what Lishness said about each of them.
Champagne
“He’s grown a lot from last year.”
Lozier
“Real happy for Lozier. He’s one of the hard-working senior captains. He’s getting better and learning from every match. I think he’s one of the top kids in the L at [145].”
Barrett
“He’s been learning how to wrestle with an injury, and he’s doing a great job with it. He’s a great kid to be around too, one of our favorites. They all are, but Mikey’s got such a personality.”
Gonzalez
“Trinidad has been on point and does a good job of managing his matches.”
Carson Sassu (120), Noah Corliss (126) and Keegan Bartis (195) all took third place, earning valuable points. Fourth place finishes were obtained by Bryce Beebe (106) and Noah Piazza (138). Dylan Levesque (152) finished fifth while Jack Kachidurian (132) and Ethan Mathiew (220) both took sixth place.
Sassu knocked off Plainville’s Sebby Soli after dropping a dual meet match to him a couple of weeks ago.
“To me, that’s a big measurement of just heart, and a measurement of growth,” Lishness said.
Beebe has been good at 106 for Eastern.
“Beebe has been wrestling really, really well for us,” Lishness said.
“Beebe has been wrestling really, really well for us,” Lishness said.
Piazza found himself in the lineup after injuries to others.
“He was pressed into service at 138,” Lishness said. “He’s certified for 132.”
Piazza weighed in at 137, less than most of his competitors. He’s also a young wrestler, but he battled and did well.
“Light for the weight, young for the weight, and he took fourth,” Lishness said. “He’s doing what we need for the team.”
What’s the biggest thing Lishness is looking for as his team prepares for the rest of the regular season and not-too-far-off postseason?
“I want to get everyone healthy and gelling at the right time,” Lishness said.
Besides Marquis, Andrew Cercone and Hidekel Mangual are also out with injuries. Lishness said his team is undefeated in duals and ranked third in the state despite not fielding a full lineup at any points during the season. The addition of those wrestlers will make the lineup just a little bit better.
What the injuries do, however, is force others to step in, and step up, like Piazza, who is just a sophomore.
“These other kids that are out there getting a good go at it now, they’re going to help us a lot down the road,” Lishness said.
As far as how the season has gone to date, Lishness is pleased.
“Right now, I can’t complain,” Lishness said. “The kids are working hard.”
